Do you want the best tenants every time you rent your property out? Well, you can get them either by chance or by investing time into a decent tenant screening process.
Tenant screening significantly boosts your chances of getting tenants who pay on time, respect your property, and don't breach their lease agreement. A good screening process includes a credit check, a rental history check, and a tenant criminal background check. Learn more about these elements in this quick guide.
Credit Check
A big part of choosing the right tenant is choosing someone who won't struggle to pay. Running a credit check on rental applicants shows you a tenant's level of financial responsibility. Tenants with a pattern of living within their means will be tenants who always have cash to pay their obligations on time.
Rental History Check
A rental history check can be somewhat tricky if you don't ask applicants for references, but not impossible. If your primary concern is whether they can pay on time, a rental history check is an excellent alternative to a credit check.
However, this check also goes much further than the financial. It also shows if they've been evicted or have a history of property damage.
Tenant Criminal Background Check
A criminal background check in Tennessee requires the applicant's consent and participation. The consent for the tenant's criminal background check is there to protect them from the misuse of personal information and to uphold their inherent right to privacy.
Getting consent helps because that may also help you get their participation, as they may need to give you an email address or some other piece of information with which to run the criminal check. A thorough criminal check looks through National, Federal, State, and county records for convictions. This step is especially important if you're looking to enter into an arrangement with a home-sharing aspect.
Screening Rules
There aren't only rules for getting the information for a background check and how you're meant to use that information. You aren't allowed to automatically ban all convicted persons from renting. You must show that you have individually considered and vetted each application.
This rule is on par with rules against discrimination on the basis of race and gender. Breaking these rules does make you legally vulnerable. Hiring a property management company to conduct your screening for you eliminates this risk.
Managing Your Property Well
Screening prospective tenants is a brilliant way to know that your asset will be treated well. The most important parts of the screening process are the credit check, the rental history check, and the tenant criminal background check.
Each check gives insight into the tenant's ability and willingness to pay. The criminal history check also allows you to weigh the genuine risk of renting to that person and broadly shows how honest they are.
Your tenant screening method is allowed to benefit you but is not allowed to help you discriminate. PMI Smoky Mountains knows how to walk this fine line well. Contact us today for help with this and for other rental management tips in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
